This elegant 1924 building began life as a vaudeville and movie theater, then presented Mexican films to a growing Latino audience in the 1930s before becoming a residence for US Navy bachelors during WWII. Closed for years, the fabled stage reopened in 2008 after being restored to its original splendor. It now presents everything from Broadway shows to comedy and opera.
Balboa Theatre
San Diego
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
11.42 MILES
Built in the 1930s behind a wave-cutting seawall, La Jolla’s Children’s Pool was created as a family beach but has since been invaded by herds of seals…
11.66 MILES
This state-of-the-art aquarium is a wonderous underwater world home to 5000 fish. Visitors can watch sharks dart, kelp forests sway, and even meet a…
0.83 MILES
Next to the new Waterfront Park, this collection of 11 historic sailing ships, steam boats and submarines is easy to spot: just look for the 100ft-high…
0.32 MILES
This interactive children’s museum offers interactive art meant for kids. Installations are designed by artists, so tykes can learn principles of movement…
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12.6 MILES
For a glimpse at what a wall between neighbors really looks like, find your way to binational Friendship Park. On the Mexico side of the wall in Playas de…
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
3.48 MILES
On the site of San Diego's first European settlement, Old Town consists of a cluster of restored or rebuilt historic 19th-century buildings filled with…
0.57 MILES
A couple blocks east of Petco Park, the city's recent landmark is a beauty. Crowned by a steel-and-mesh dome, the futuristic, nine-story library features…
11.26 MILES
Waves have carved a series of caves into the sandstone cliffs east of La Jolla Cove. The one below the Cave Store, a shop selling vintage curios, is 200…
Nearby San Diego attractions
0.1 MILES
No hotel in the region can compare to the Hotel del Coronado for history, but US Grant, built in 1910, comes close. It’s on the National Register of…
2. Gaslamp Museum & William Heath Davis House
0.26 MILES
This house, a prefab affair brought from Maine in 1850, contains a small museum with 19th-century furnishings, plus historic newspaper clippings in the…
0.32 MILES
This interactive children’s museum offers interactive art meant for kids. Installations are designed by artists, so tykes can learn principles of movement…
4. San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
0.34 MILES
The historic heart of San Diego’s Chinese community is 3rd Ave. Immigrants were once taught English and religion in the Chinese Mission Building, built in…
0.51 MILES
In an upcycled Santa Fe Depot baggage building, this well-respected museum presents changing exhibits drawn from a collection spanning the arc of artistic…
0.53 MILES
A quick stroll southeast of the Gaslamp is the home of the San Diego Padres baseball team. The stadium has beautiful brick construction and skyscraper…
0.57 MILES
A couple blocks east of Petco Park, the city's recent landmark is a beauty. Crowned by a steel-and-mesh dome, the futuristic, nine-story library features…
0.62 MILES
This museum preserves a historic collection of fire-fighting equipment and has exhibits depicting some of San Diego’s ‘hottest’ moments from the late…